Lego bricks flushed by Brits alone could build a world-record tower

Everything was awesome, until the Lego tower decided to go for a swim.

Gael Fashingbauer Cooper/CNET

New parents, here's a tip. Get one of those lid locks for your toilet as soon as your little darling learns to walk. You're going to save yourself a zillion on plumbing bills.

British insurance company Direct Line reports that 2.5 million Lego bricks have been flushed down the toilet by British kids under 10. (This year? Since Legos were invented? They don't specify...but regardless, that's a lot o' Legos.)

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But Lego pieces are way, way down the list of items British kids flush, according to recent research from the company. Dolls, including Barbie and Bratz, top the list, with nearly 4.3 million sent for a pleasant sewer swim. Pens and crayons are next at 4.2 million, keys at 3.9 million, credit cards at 3.5 million, puzzle and game pieces at 3.3 million, and perhaps most horrifyingly to parents, 3 million mobile phones take an underwater voyage.

"Children love to explore their environment and are often fascinated by the idea of flushing things away.," said Morgan Simpson, Direct Line home emergency response manager, in a release. "Whether it's disposing of their sibling's Barbie doll or their own Lego creations, children can cause huge plumbing problems in the home."

The press release is supposed to encourage people to buy more insurance to cover Lego-in-toilet floods and clogs, but really, all it does it make us terrified to have any more kids.